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After five years spent patiently waiting for Jay Leno to abdicate the throne, it's finally Conan O'Brien's time to shine as the fifth host of NBC's storied Tonight Show franchise. Although he got off to a somewhat shaky start during a tension-filled, torch-passing interview with Colonel Kurtz Jay Leno on Friday night, one thing that Conan won't be able to complain about is a lack of awareness. Not only has NBC been seeding commercials for Conan's ascension across its network and cable properties for weeks, but early returns show that the Tonight Show finale scored the strongest Friday-night ratings of any show aired during Jay Leno's seventeen-year run as host of the show. And, as Jay made sure to point out during his closing words, Conan is inheriting network television's top-rated late-night program, one that generates some $100 million for NBC/Universal on an annual basis. Naturally, this realization has Conan more than a little bit nervous.

As for what kinds of bits we can expect to see tonight and the rest of this week, well, Conan's been keeping most of that under his hat (except for those focus groups, which seem promisingly uncomfortable). That said, here's what we know: Andy Richter will be on hand to introduce Conan as host, Will Ferrell will be his first proper interview, and Pearl Jam will be the musical guest. Aside from that, we can only assume that Conan will continue being Conan, which is to say, we can't wait to see what he does with the opportunity. However, in the short term, what intrigues us most will not be the characters he introduces or the havoc he causes, but rather, what the heartland's reaction is going to be to the lanky, whip-smart, and intellectual O'Brien. Especially considering how much they enjoyed being served up a Tonight Show that was essentially the polar opposite of that for the last seventeen years.